Sneaky Santa Social Workers

It is time.  Time for Gift of Life’s annual Secret Santa gift exchange. This is one of my favorite times of the year, because the staff becomes creative and competitive. Creative, competitive and sneaky. Now, I’m sure you’re familiar with how the Secret Santa game works. We all draw names from a hat to find…

A GOLA-giving

This time of year always brings out a number of emotions for me.  I’m excited to get 2016 done and over with, but I’m a little sad to see the year pass, because it’s been kinda wonderful. One of those wonderful memories is Gift of Life’s Thanksgiving work family get together or GOLA -giving, if…

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

It’s that time of the year, again. The time of the year, when we bring a little holiday cheer to the community. Gift of Life works with many social and medical professionals.  The counseling and care that they give is an important part of the adoption process. When choosing a gift to say thank you,…

LET’S TAKE OFF OUR MASKS

October is a pretty full month. In addition to bringing Halloween, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as well as Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. Somehow, October feels like the perfect month to discuss these kind of personal hurts.  The weather is gentler.  Our coffees are sweeter.  We’re wrapped in soft scarves and…

Learning Better Ways to Care For Our Babies

Gift of Life Adoptions is always looking for new ways to educate ourselves on all aspects of adoption.   So we were very excited when our director, Meghan, and myself got the opportunity to attend a presentation regarding infant care and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Our intention was to gather as much information as we could so…

Birth Moms Bring the Conference to Tears

This year, four of our staff were able to travel to beautiful Orlando to be a part of the annual Florida Adoption Council Conference. Gift of Life looks forward to this event every year. It’s a chance to network and reconnect with other adoption professionals.  It’s also a great place to learn new policies, laws,…

HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE: A CASEWORKER STORY

As we talk about the hospital experience and making a hospital plans, I am reminded of one of my favorite birth mom stories. I had worked with a birth mom named Andrea for several months.  Andrea was kind birth mom that struggled with an addiction problem. Although the delivery was sudden, the adoptive couple was…

DIFFICULT ADOPTION QUESTION: MAKING A HOSPITAL PLAN

As we mentioned in our last post, the time at the hospital can be physically and emotionally overwhelming.  That’s why we always try to make a hospital plan with our birth parents ahead of time. Creating a hospital plan allows you to talk about what certain things you envisioned for this process, as well as…

DIFFICULT ADOPTION QUESTIONS:YOUR HOSPITAL TIME

When we are diacussing the hospital time with a birth mom, this is one of questions we are often asked: If I’m placing my baby for adoption, do I still get to spend time with my baby at the hospital? Of course.  Let’s take a moment to discuss your time with the baby at the…

DIFFICULT ADOPTION QUESTIONS: HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE

In an adoption, the time at the hospital is a unique and special time. When a birth mom goes to the hospital to deliver her baby, there are a lot of things going on.   She is in a lot of physical pain and can be in a great deal of emotional turmoil.  Sometimes it is…